Stone in Love
by yesterdays.forever
Summary: Elena left Mystic Falls two years ago with no intent to ever really come back. Her father didn't care, their friends had taken his side, and she didn't have anyone. Wedding's suck, especially when it's your best friend's, because how can you just tell her you won't come to her wedding because you don't want to see him? ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Okay, so, new story! This time, I basically made up the story line myself but parts of it are influenced from _That 70's Show_ but most specifically the characters (Damon and Elena) are loosely based off of Jackie Burkhart and Steven Hyde.(Dunno why, but I've really gotten into it lately and I absolutely love Jackie and Hyde together.) The summary sucks because I couldn't decide on what to put there but hopefully the story is better than the summary...This first chapter is pretty much more of a prologue than a chapter, hope you guys don't mind that. I really hope I catch some of your guys' attention and I hope you like this story! Please review and let me know!

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Elena Gilbert was really, _really_ , irritated.

Caroline Forbes, one of Elena's friends from Mystic Falls, was getting married in three weeks and Elena _had_ to go. She was supposed to be a bridesmaid and Caroline would probably come to New York to drag her to Virginia if she didn't show up.

Why was Elena irritated?

The cause of Elena's irritation was a man Damon Salvatore, who she would be forced to see if she went to Caroline's wedding.

Damon was an ex-boyfriend who was a complete ass. They'd gotten together her senior year of High School and had lasted for about 3 years. During those three years, Damon had managed to cheat on her at least once that she knew of.

Their _relationship_ had started a few months after Stefan, Damon's brother and her ex, had left for California. In reality, their relationship hadn't even started as a _real_ relationship. It was like a hidden friends with benefits sort of thing.

They'd gotten bored one day and had started making out. Then the making out led to…well, _you know_. Needless to say, once they'd started their little… _tryst_ … it'd continued. Secretly.

Until Caroline and Tyler had found out. Tyler had sighed and rolled his eyes. He didn't really care. Caroline, on the other hand…

" _Seriously, Elena! This is probably the stupidest thing you've ever done! Damon, of all people, you choose Damon?"_

" _Yes, Care. I chose Damon. Why does it matter?"_

 _Caroline scoffed. "Why does it matter? It's Damon! He's no good, Elena! All he'll do is hurt you."_

" _Wow, Care, thanks! We're not even in a relationship! How can he even hurt me?"_

" _Oh, really?" Caroline said. "If you're not in a relationship what the hell are you two even doing? Trying to get back at Stefan?"_

" _What! No! What we're…doing…has nothing to do with Stefan!"_

 _Caroline raised her eyebrow at Elena. "Really? Then why are you two doing it? You don't even like each other!"_

 _Elena gritted her teeth. "I don't know. Just leave me alone Caroline. And for the love of god, stop taking Stefan's side on everything. I'm the one who's your best friend, not him!" She turned and walked away. Elena ignored Caroline for the next few days._

Caroline then proceeded to bother Elena constantly about _why_ she was doing this thing with Damon and how _bad_ of an idea it was and blah, blah, blah. Elena knew Caroline was right. However, Elena didn't _care_. Two weeks later, Stefan had turned back up from California. Tyler and Caroline proceeded to nag Damon and Elena. _They_ thought Damon and Elena needed to tell Stefan what they were doing.

Damon and Elena disagreed.

" _No, Caroline, he doesn't need to know. It's not important to him at all! We're not together anyways! Stefan had no reason to care or know about what we're doing!" Elena argued._

See, neither one of them thought Stefan needed to know anything about what they were doing because they weren't in a relationship. They didn't really care to be in a relationship with each other. Damon and Elena hardly even _liked_ each other.

But, eventually, Stefan had found out. He wasn't real happy about it, either. Elena had walked home to find Damon and Stefan in Tyler's driveway beating the living hell out of each other. There was a lot of yelling and screaming. Tyler, Caroline, and Matt had managed to drag Damon inside after Elena had screamed at Stefan and Damon to stop for five minutes straight.

Stefan had apparently come home just in time to see Damon kissing Elena in the Lockwoods' driveway. From what Elena gathered, he left and went to see Tyler. Tyler then told Stefan everything he knew about Damon and Elena and Damon showed up at Tyler's. Then they'd started fighting. That's when Elena had showed up.

Stefan had then looked at her with his jaw clenched and left.

Elena hadn't gone after him.

Stefan did have somewhat of a right to be angry. He'd gone to California after she'd rejected his proposal. Elena hadn't wanted to get married to Stefan…She didn't know _why_. Getting married was something she'd wanted, yet this time, she didn't. Though it may have had to do with Katherine Pierce, the girl Stefan had cheated on her with a month prior to his proposal.

Yup, she had taken him back after being cheated on. Multiple times. She was young and stupid. She believed that Stefan had loved her.

Anyway, they'd never officially broken up when Stefan had left. Maybe it was wrong of Elena to just… forget about Stefan and start her… _thing_ … with Damon.

She didn't realize that she'd decided her relationship with Stefan was over until the moment in the driveway. Damon had started out as a fun summer fling and all thoughts of Stefan had left her mind. She'd forgotten that Stefan had even existed.

After all that, Stefan and Damon had somewhat made up. Damon and Elena's little tryst had continued up until they'd decided that, _yes_ , they _were_ in a relationship, and, _yes_ , they _liked_ being in one. Stefan had started running around with Katherine and a few others later on. He didn't seem to care about Damon and Elena's relationship, let alone mind it after he and Damon had finally made up.

Damon's first mistake in their relationship was when he cheated on her. And, like the idiot she was, she took him back after a few weeks. Unlike Stefan, Damon was actually sorry and could see what he'd done wrong. They stayed in their relationship for another two years after that.

Elena Gilbert had always wanted to get married and have kids. It was a dream she'd had since she was little. She wanted a storybook type of love. She wanted her prince charming and perfect wedding. She wanted one of the relationships that you envy from a TV show or movie.

Damon Salvatore had never been one for any of that.

Elena had known, at some point in their relationship, that she wanted Damon. She _wanted_ to be married to him and have his kids. Elena dreamed of it. She dreamed of her perfect wedding and beautiful children that she'd have with him.

It all came crashing down.

After she'd graduated, Elena had gotten an acceptance letter from Columbia University. So, after making plans, she'd gone to New York. She'd begged Damon to go with her; He'd kissed her on the cheek and sent her off.

But, of course, being Damon, he showed up at the worst moment possible.

Stefan had been living in New York on and off for a year. He'd gotten Lexi, who had then finally been his girlfriend, pregnant. Elena had been upset and crying because of Damon that she'd called Lexi to talk. Lexi had then sent Stefan to see Elena at her hotel.

" _I just don't understand him, Stefan! Why couldn't he just give me something! Anything!" Elena cried, "I would've accepted anything." She said somberly._

" _He's Damon, Elena. It's just how he is…he believes everyone's going to leave or hate him at some point. You know he always thought he was bad for you." Stefan said softly, pulling her into his side and wrapping an arm around her._

" _He wasn't."_

Damon had walked in at that moment to see Stefan and Elena on the couch together. Stefan had still had his arm around her. Granted, they weren't doing anything. Anyone else would've at least investigated to see what was actually going on or they would've immediately noticed that what was going on was the furthest from something romantic.

Damon believed otherwise. He always thought the worst.

Even though she'd tried to stop him, Damon had stormed back over to his Camaro and sped off. She'd screamed at him and begged him to stop and talk to her but he wouldn't. Elena had then proceeded to call the Lockwood's and the Salvatore Mansion for days on end to talk to him. Apparently, Damon hadn't gone home. No one knew where he was.

" _I don't know where he is, Elena. He hasn't answered his phone since he left to see you. I promise I'll call if I hear from him." Tyler had said after she'd cried to him over the phone for an hour or longer._

It wasn't a shocking thing. Damon usually avoided everyone when he was pissed off and the only exceptions had been his mother or Elena. He lived at the Boarding House while Giuseppe and Lily lived in the mansion. He rarely went anywhere other than the Boarding House, The Grill, Tyler's House, or her house. She'd called all of their friends hoping that Damon had at the very least spoken to one of them. He hadn't. She knew he hadn't.

Elena had later driven back to Mystic Falls after getting her apartment in New York set up. That was a few weeks after Damon had been MIA. She was told he had eventually shown back up at home to let his mother know he was alright. Apparently he'd found out how upset she'd been the longer he'd chosen to not answer anyone.

Damon had managed to avoid her for almost a month and she'd decided that she was done with it. He couldn't continue to make her feel like a horrible person when she hadn't done a damn thing to deserve it. The moment she'd walked into the Boarding House, she was met with a skinny blonde girl in the kitchen.

" _Hi!" The blond girl happily exclaimed. "Who're you?"_

 _Elena was confused. Who the hell was this girl? She wasn't wearing anything except an old tshirt. A tshirt that was Damon's and was also one of Elena's favorites. Elena was choosing to ignore that little detail_

 _She swallowed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm Elena." She stated. "Who the hell are you?"_

 _Te blonde girl looked at her oddly. Almost like she thought Elena was stupid, or slow. "I'm Andie.." The blonde girl trailed off. "Damon's wife."_

 _Elena felt dizzy. "Excuse me?" She breathed. "Wife?"_

 _Damon walked into the kitchen at that moment. He'd just gotten out of th shower because he was wet and only had a towel on. "Yeah," He drawled. "My wife." He smirked at Elena and walked over to Andie and kissed her._

That moment, Elena felt her heart break.

Damon outright refused to even listen anything wedding related. He wouldn't even tell Elena that he saw a future with her.

been speechless for a moment. What was she going to say? Damon outright refused to even listen anything wedding related. He wouldn't even tell Elena that he saw a future with her.

She doubted he was lying. What was the point in saying he was married to this blonde _skank_? If he wanted to hurt her he could've just said he'd moved on. Then again, why wouldn't he lie? He knew her just as well as she knew him.

Elena's eyes flickered between Andie and Damon. She could feel tears burning in her eyes and she refused to let Damon see her cry. So, she nodded and left.

She waited until the boarding house was no longer visible before she started crying. It wasn't pretty crying either. It was the heart-wrenching hyperventilating kind of crying.

For the next three months, Damon tormented her with Andie. He'd say the rudest tings he possibly could to hurt her and he'd always made sure to be attached to _her_ whenever she looked his way. Caroline had even chosen to hang out with her. Caroline treated that blonde like she was her best friend and simply ignored Elena telling her that she was being childish.

After Damon had been particularly cruel one day, Elena had finally gone back to New York. She could take a lot but Damon telling her that he'd never loved her while Andie was hanging all over him had been the final straw. She couldn't handle the constant torment anymore.

Her father had kept the payments up on her apartment the whole time she'd been in Mystic Falls, All she'd had to do was pack her clothes and leave.

So she did.

About six months after she'd been back in New York, She'd gotten a call from Caroline.

She and Caroline had somewhat made up and were getting along again after she'd been in New York for about two months. Caroline had called her crying and begging for Elena to forgive her. Elena did because Caroline was her best friend. Bonnie had wanted nothing to do with her after Elena had quit the cheerleading squad and most of her friends had done nothing to help her while Damon tormented her with his _wife_.

Caroline's reason for calling had been to tell her that Damon and Andie hadn't been legally married. Supposedly, Damon hadn't actually even remembered getting married to Andie. Everything he'd said to Elena was what Andie had explained to him after she'd shown up looking for him. He'd left Vegas thinking he was single still. He had no idea he'd gotten married.

They'd all found out the marriage was fake after Andie's real husband had shown up demanding that she come home.

That call to Elena had been placed almost two years ago and she hadn't been back to Mystic Falls since.

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 **AN:** Well, let me know what you guys thought! (Hopefully it didn't suck…because that would suck) Like Sleeping Beauty, this story isn't betaed so any mistakes made are my own and I'll apologize now for any there may be. The next chapter is ready to be posted at any time, I have this story written up to chapter four so far, I'm just waiting to see the response on this chapter before I post the next :)


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** So, this chapter is shorter than the first, hope you guys don't mind. Thanks to everyone for the favs, reviews, and follows! I'm not completely happy with this chapter but I couldn't figure out what else I should change or put in. Hope you guys like it :)

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 **Chapter 2**

Elena Gilbert had never been one for airplanes. She thought they were dirty and that they were too easy to die on. She can't help that, though. Most of her fears came from seeing movies or stories on the news. So, yeah, she watches a lot of TV. Elena had originally decided to drive to Mystic Falls, but Caroline sent her a plane ticket and demanded that she use it. She'd tried to argue with her best friend and it hadn't worked out.

Which is why Elena is currently on her way to Mystic Falls in an airplane.

The moment she'd gotten onto the plane she'd regretted it. Disastrous situations played out her mind and there was no stopping them. She worried about her luggage the whole time, too. People lost their luggage at airports _all_ the time and she really didn't need that to happen… She was supposed to stay in Mystic Falls for a week or so. Elena was already slightly dreading the dress Caroline was going to make her wear to the wedding; If she lost her luggage she'd have to deal with her friend taking charge of what she wore during her entire stay.

Elena had her moments where she was a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl. Caroline never had those moments. You'd rarely see Caroline in a t-shirt and jeans; if you did, they were designer.

* * *

There was a little over forty five minutes until she landed in Richmond. Caroline was supposed to pick her up from the airport so she was sure she'd be terrorized with wedding plans and problems the moment Care spotted her.

So, she decided to sleep. If she was groggy enough by the time she saw Caroline, _maybe_ she could block her out.

The plane had finally landed, a flight attendant woke her up, and thankfully, Elena retrieved her luggage without any problems. Thank god.

As she was walking to the front of the airport, she turned her phone on to see Caroline had sent her a text message saying,

' _I couldn't make it but he could…Don't be mad'_

The text had some kind of weird sad emoticon at the end of it. Elena was dreading whatever Caroline had done but she was sure it had to do with being picked up at the airport. Then she looked up.

She was going to throttle Caroline.

Damon Salvatore was standing about 5 feet away from her surrounded by girls he was obviously flirting with. Elena wasn't sure what the better option was:

Stomp up to Damon and throw a fit or simply glide past him and his group of fan girls to start walking to Mystic Falls or wait by his car.

She chose the latter option. Walking to Mystic Falls was basically impossible. Elena hated walking and it would take forever. She was short and couldn't walk very fast regularly, let alone being weighed down with her bags.

* * *

.

After about five minutes, she was able to spot the light Blue Camaro. Damon had left the doors unlocked and she was tempted to reach for the spare key that she was sure was still taped underneath the seats. She _could_ leave Damon. Then again, would it be worth all the grief she'd be given if she did?

Yeah, probably not. Damon was a drama queen. Especially when it came to his car.

However, that didn't mean Elena couldn't use the key to turn the AC and radio on. It was hot and she didn't want to sit in silence. So, she then spent twenty minutes messing around with her blog on her phone and switching the stations on the radio before she glanced up to see Damon walking over to the car. He didn't look very happy.

Oh, well.

She raised an eyebrow at Damon as he jerked the driver's side door open and slammed it shut.

"Considering you _obviously_ figured out that I was here to pick you up, you could've at least had the decency to let me know you got off the damn plane."

"If you hadn't been surrounded by floozies, you would've noticed." She said in a bored tone.

He clenched his jaw and turned his head to back the car out of its parking space.

"I'm not in the mood to argue with you, Elena." He rolled his shoulders and huffed.

Elena shrugged and had a blank look on her face, "Wasn't trying to argue; Just pointing out the facts."

Damon cleared his throat and nodded, backing the car out of its parking space. "Sure you were." He said.

Elena was a little amused. Damon was obviously trying to be somewhat friendly and she certainly wasn't making it easy, was she? She supposed the tables had turned but this time, neither one of them had a reason to be even remotely nice to the other. Sure, being nice usually came along with being a decent human being but she couldn't make herself do it. After how he'd treated her, it didn't matter how much time went by. He never even remotely apologized so she had no reason to treat him any other way than what _she_ felt like.

Elena had a sneaking suspicion that a certain Lily Salvatore had a hand in how cordial Damon was acting or being. Damon was a major momma's boy so he was bound to do as his mother asked but Elena also knew Lily could be downright intimidating if she wanted to.

Plus, Lily had always liked Elena.

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After Miranda Gilbert, Elena's mother, had decided that she no longer wanted to be a wife or mother, Lily Salvatore made it her business to take care of Elena and do everything she could for her.

Elena hadn't seen her mother in over five years thought she did receive the occasional post card from Miranda. Grayson Gilbert could've cared less when Miranda left, as he was rarely home anyways.

So, yeah, Elena's parents weren't that great unless she wanted something they could buy. Which, when she was younger, Elena had no problem with that. It meant she could do and have just about anything she wanted. Eventually she'd grown out of that and unfortuantely that was when Miranda had decided to leave. From then on, Elena spent most of her time at the Salvatore's.

Lily Salvatore had slowly become her surrogate mother and she had enjoyed every minute of it. Lily had taught her how to cook and sew; Elena had then proved that she was great at baking though cooking an actual meal was a bit harder.

If she hadn't have stayed over at the Salvatore's so often, she probably would've never even had a relationship with Stefan. If he wasn't playing football, he could be a major introvert and Stefan hadn't really had any friends until he'd started hanging around Elena.

She had been the one to encourage him to go to parties and dances. He'd eventually started to and enjoyed everything he went to. Damon, however, had been a different story. Damon and Stefan were complete opposites though they had moments where they got along. Damon was a Momma's boy and Stefan was a Daddy's boy. Stefan got attention from Giuseppe that Damon had never received and because of that, Damon had a major dislike for his brother _and_ father.

She and Damon had never really been anything until they started their summer fling that turned into their relationship. Before that, she never saw a whole lot of Damon and when she did, he wasn't exactly the nicest person. He rarely did anything more than sneer at Elena or ignore her completely. She'd usually only see him when he came to the Mansion and chose to argue with Giuseppe for whatever reason he had.

Lily would give Damon an exasperated look as he came back downstairs from Giuseppe's study but he always ignored her, hugged her, and walked out. Lily would then turn to her to resume whatever they'd been previously doing after rolling her eyes with a smile on her face.

So, if there was someone she wanted to see in Mystic Falls, it was Lily.

She could care less about seeing her own father and that got on her nerves. She wanted to be excited to see him like she always had when she was a kid, she still wanted to be unaware of how her parents had treated her. She resented Grayson the most because he didn't choose to even be around her after her mother had left. He continued on the way he had though then it had gotten even worse. He worked alone even later and Elena was alone in the house most of the day. Grayson only acted like a father in the presence of others. Any other time he ignored her or didn't pay any attention to what she was saying or doing.

Grayson Gilbert didn't care about his daughter and if he did, he surely didn't show it.

After Miranda had left and Elena had started to spend most of her time at the Salvatore mansion with Lily, she would get so upset at Damon. While Damon may have had reasons to hate Giuseppe like he did, she had resented him. He had a father that actually cared about where he was and what he was doing.

Elena didn't and never really had.

They'd argued over it constantly. She thought Damon took everything for granted, especially his parents, and he would argue back that she didn't understand and needed to keep out of his business. Damon, for the most part, only cared for his mother. He did care about his father, she later figured out.

Elena had always assumed Damon disliked Giuseppe so much because Stefan had always been their father's favorite. Lily Salvatore loved her sons equally but you could also tell that Damon was her favorite.

In reality, most would assume that it would be the other way around. Stefan was shy, quiet, and polite. Damon was loud, obnoxious, and cocky.

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 **AN:** I tried to re-read and make sure that there weren't any grammatical mistakes but I'm sure I might have missed a few... Anyway, let me know what you guys thought and what you liked/disliked! (I do wanna know!)

:)


	3. Chapter 3

**AN;** Just so no one gets confused, in the story Damon is 25 and Elena is 23. There isn't really any dialogue in this chapter, though I am attempting to get better at writing that in, but I also couldn't think of what dialogue to put in it so I'm not completely happy with this chapter.. I don't think it's long enough but I didn't want to over exlpain anything... Okay, now that that's said, here's the chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

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 **Chapter 3**

Elena hadn't asked Damon where he was taking her but she didn't particularly care. She silently hoped he was dropping her off at the Salvatore's. She was ticked off at Caroline and she certainly didn't want to be at her childhood home with her non-existent father.

So, when they pulled up at the mansion, Elena grabbed her purse and made a beeline to the front door. She assumed Damon would grab her other two bags out of the trunk before leaving.

Lily Salvatore was in the kitchen, exactly where Elena had been expecting her to be. In the two years Elena had been gone, nothing had changed in the house. Sure, Lily had obviously painted the house but other than that, everything was the same.

Before walking into the kitchen, Elena dropped her bag on a small table by the doorway. She heard the front door open and close and bags were dropped on the floor. Damon had obviously chosen to be somewhat nice and actually grab her bags for her like she'd been hoping.

Lily turned to look at the doorway Elena was about to walk through as she heard Damon close the front door. Lily had immediately stopped what she was doing with a bright smile on her face, she crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at Elena.

"Well, long time no see, stranger!"

Elena laughed and walked over to Lily who immediately hugged her.

The two then spent the next few hours in the kitchen talking and cooking. Elena ignored several texts from Caroline, which was childish, but the texts didn't really involve anything important.

She'd talk to Caroline tomorrow. It was getting late and she'd had trouble sleeping the past few nights anyway. She really needed to go upstairs and sleep. If she didn't, she wouldn't even have half the energy she needed to deal with crazy-party-planner Caroline. Thinking about the thought made her groan.

* * *

Damon had surprisingly left her alone the rest of the day. Lily had gone out of the kitchen to talk to him but Elena didn't know what it was about. However, Lily did finally mention that Damon was currently staying there at the mansion instead of the Boarding House. Supposedly, he was getting work done on it.

Elena wasn't sure she completely believed that because Lily had always been a bit of a meddler when it came to Elena and Damon. Lily was the main reason Damon and Elena's relationship had lasted as long as it had. She was the only one who was invested in both of their lives enough to care and want them to work whatever problem they had out.

She'd even tried it when Damon had come home married from Vegas. In the end, she couldn't get them back together. Elena would admit to this day that if Damon had just talked to her and gotten rid of Andie, they'd probably have been fine. They wouldn't have been perfect, obviously, but they would've had the chance to work it out. If they couldn't have, they could've at least have tried to part on good terms.

Damon hadn't wanted anything to do with any suggestion Lily made or any argument or plead Elena made. He was so convinced Elena had cheated on him with Stefan that he didn't care. He didn't want to hear reason or even the truth. He refused to listen to either and of course any _truth_ that came out of Elena or Stefan's mouth he refused to believe. To Damon, every single word of it had been a lie. It didn't matter who it came from.

That had hurt Elena's heart. She'd never even remotely done anything to hurt their relationship in the way he believed she had. He had been the one that had cheated after their first misunderstanding. She'd never done anything of the sort.

Elena didn't have it in her to cheat on Damon. During their relationship, most people had said that in Elena's eyes, the sun set and rose on Damon. He was everything to her. That was true. She could admit that now. She could admit it because it had been a horrible, horrible mistake. She'd made Damon her everything, she'd depended on him.

Bitterly, she thought, it had come back to bite her in the ass.

* * *

Elena was still sitting in the kitchen, though now she was alone. She was thinking of everything that had gone on in Mystic Falls. She was thinking of everything that had driven her to leave.

All it did was make her realize how much she really didn't want to be in Virginia, let alone Mystic Falls.

Mystic Falls reminded her of all the mistakes she'd ever made. There weren't hardly any good memories there for her. Granted, she had some very good ones that hadn't been tainted by her and Damon's disastrous relationship.

The majority of them involved the Grill, the Lockwood house, and the Salvatore mansion. Some of her favorites from the Salvatore mansion had been drawing, painting, and coloring with Lily. Lily Salvatore was an amazing artist. She wasn't nationally known, but a lot of people in the Virginia and New York areas knew of her work.

Elena and Caroline had spent most of their summers in the Mansion's gardens with Lily drawing and doing whatever Lily would allow them to. They'd ended up learning a lot of things, Elena had gotten more from it than Caroline but Caroline wasn't as much of an artist as Elena was. Elena wasn't an amazing artist by any means but when she wanted, she could make some really nice things.

When she was 19, she'd used an old window Lily had stored in a shed to make a mosaic of a Guitar with music notes around it for Damon. She'd used all sorts of different pieces and colors of glass to make it and she'd done it by arranging the small pieces on top of the old windows glass. She'd given it to Damon for his twenty-first birthday. He'd loved it and hung it up in the boarding house immediately.

Elena had a habit for making things for Damon. She'd draw random things on little scraps of paper and give them to him. He'd always seemed to like every little one he received but Elena had no idea whether he had anything she'd made him anymore.

He'd never really done any of that though sometimes he would randomly give flowers and make some of her favorite foods for her.

It wouldn't surprise her if he or his _wife_ had gotten rid of everything. She could imagine the blonde happily getting rid of anything but, then again, she could also see Damon getting rid of everything as well. That idea really stung.

Elena sighed and got up to take her mug over to the sink. Lily had made her some tea that would supposedly help her sleep as she had been having issues sleeping for the past few days. Elena supposed it worked because she _was_ feeling a bit tired. Then again, that could also have to do with what she was thinking about too. Thinking about all of this stuff tended to drain her of whatever energy she had.

She was _so_ done with today. It could've been worse, she supposed, but it wasn't great either.

Hopefully Damon was already in bed because she really didn't want to run into him on the way to her bedroom.

* * *

 **AN:** _PLEASE_ let me know what you thought! Reviews, good _or_ bad, really encourage me to write.

(Sorry for any mistakes I may have missed)


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Elena had been up for about an hour. It was only ten in the morning but she could hear someone, probably Lily, moving around in the kitchen. She assumed that Lily was making breakfast. Damon hadn't left his room since last night so Elena was sure he was still asleep. Or he was being anti-social.

Their rooms were across from each other, unfortunately. So they were doomed to run into each other again which was really something Elena wanted to avoid.

Okay, maybe _she_ was being the anti-social one.

Elena sighed and rolled onto her back.

The more she thought about it, the more she wondered whether ignoring Damon and being, well, rude to him was worth it. It certainly wouldn't change anything. She would still be hurt because, yes, anything they had may have completely ended two years ago, but it still hurt.

Sometimes she felt bitter about it, other times she felt horrible. It completely and utterly sucked.

Elena couldn't understand why she couldn't just let go of everything. She just _couldn't_. She'd tried numerous times by going on several dates some of her New York friends had set her up with. Most of them had been nice. They were also boring, too. Every single guy she'd gone on a date with in New York had always lacked _something_. Then, Elena had eventually realized, she was comparing each date to Damon. Who, really, was so _not_ the perfect guy in any way what-so-ever. The sad part is that he had been _her_ perfect guy.

So, yes, it still hurt and it still most definitely sucked.

She didn't feel like she could even trust Damon after he'd gone off and married Andie. Or, well, thought he had married anyway. That part was the most confusing. Damon was pretty damn smart. Why the hell would he not question something like that? The wedding in its self had actually been real. Damon had always been one to investigate. Especially when it was something he didn't remember. So why the hell hadn't he made sure Andie wasn't lying?

Elena knew the answer, of course, but it just didn't make sense. The only way it would was if she asked Damon. She wasn't ever going to do that.

It was all a very large confusing mess. It all led to one thing, really. She missed him. The minute she'd left Mystic falls two years ago, she had missed him. They were great together. Damon had become her best friend during their relationship just like she had become his. Elena wanted desperately to just be friends or, at least, be somewhat friendly with Damon now.

She wasn't sure it would ever happen. If she wanted it to take place badly enough, she needed to get over the bitterness and hurt. The only way to do that would be for them to sit down and go over everything that had happened. Elena was sure that if they did, she could understand. She could forgive most of his actions if she just understood. However, she wasn't sure she could forgive the mean words and cruel remarks.

Those would just have to be forgotten.

* * *

Elena finally decided to get out of bed. Her phone had even more notifications from Caroline and even a few from Stefan. Stefan probably had send the text because Caroline made him, which she had a habit of doing.

She replied to Stefan and as she did, Damon banged on the door and told her breakfast was ready. There was a bad chance this was going to be awkward or it was going to involve arguing. It would probably be a bit of both.

Where the hell were her headphones?

Elena spent over fifteen minutes riffling through her bags for her missing pair of headphones and couldn't find them. She supposed she could handle Damon for another short period of time without having her own personal way to block him out.

"Here we go," Elena sighed as she put her hair up.

Lily had obviously cooked three times the amount she'd needed to. The counter had biscuits, gravy, pancakes, waffles, bacon, some French toast, and sausage covering it. Damon was sitting across from his father shoveling pancakes into his mouth. He obviously hadn't gotten dressed either. He had on a pair of black and blue flannel pants and he hadn't brushed his hair at all.

"Are there other people coming over to eat?" She asked Lily as she grabbed a piece of sausage.

Giuseppe, who was sitting at the table reading the paper, chuckled and muttered something. Elena assumed it was something like 'I told you that it was too much.'

Lily turned to her after shutting the refrigerator door, "Oh, no! Stefan may, of course, but this is all just for us." She put her hands on her hips and surveyed the food on the counter. "Though I do suppose it is a bit too much..." Lily then shrugged her shoulders and smiled at Elena. "I'm sure we'll find something to do with it all." She leaned against the counter and took a sip out of her mug.

Elena grinned at Lily, "I'm sure we will," she said as she went to sit in the chair furthest from Damon.

When she sat down, Damon glanced at her hand and had a disgusted look on his face. He looked back down at his plate and grabbed his phone off the table. Elena rolled her eyes and sat back in the chair.

Damon hated sausage and thought it was the 'most disgusting food in the world.' He was one of the pickiest eaters she'd ever met. It had been one of the things she'd teased him for constantly.

Giuseppe glanced over at Damon, then looked at Elena and cleared his throat. "So, how's New York been, Caro?"

Elena turned toward Giuseppe, "Loud and crowded, as usual. It makes me miss being here, actually." She smiled at him.

"Well, that's a good thing! Maybe you ought to come home more often," He grinned at her.

She giggled, "Yeah, _maybe_."

Giuseppe looked at Damon, "How's the work on the boarding house going, Damon?"

Damon gave Giuseppe an exasperated look, as if he was wondering why his father even cared to ask "It's going fine."

Giuseppe sighed and picked his newspaper up off the table and began reading.

It was horrible, so far. Elena had a feeling the mood would lighten once Damon left. She didn't want to be in the room with him, anyway. He was just making things worse by being defensive and irritable.

Lily was washing dishes and softly humming. She had the tendency to pay absolutely no attention to Damon when he was being obstinent. It was one of her tact -tics of staying out of anything that went on between Damon and Giuseppe.

Elena got up from the table and pushed her chair in. "Well, I'm going to go call Caroline. She's been blowing my phone up since yesterday."

Lily laughed and glanced back at Elena. "That girl is awful persistent, isn't she?"

"Unfortunately, she is," Elena sighed and tilted her head at Lily, " _but_ I have learned to deal with it." She gave her a half smile and left the kitchen to get dressed.

* * *

Caroline spent an hour complaining about _everything_. Dresses, Flowers, Enzo, Decorations, and, of course, how Elena _should_ have called her as soon as she'd gotten into town. Needless to say, Elena was really missing her headphones about fifteen minutes into the conversation. She _still_ couldn't find the damn things!

"Elena!" Caroline screeched into the phone. "Are you even listening to me?"

Elena had immediately pulled the phone away from her ear. It was too early for Caroline to be making high pitched sounds.

" _Yes_ , Caroline." She said. "I'm listening."

"Okay, good, so Enzo's mother is _so_ irritating she…"

Elena stopped listening to Caroline though she could still hear her babbling about things from the phone. Damon happened to be going into his room at that moment. Damon _also_ had on a pair of purple headphones that she _knew_ didn't belong to him; mainly because they looked _exactly_ like her missing pair. What a coincidence.

 _Not_.

Hopefully Caroline would run out of things to talk about soon because glaring at the back of Damon's head wasn't doing her any good.

* * *

 **AN:** So, it took me awhile to figure out whether I wanted Elena to have any nicknames and I eventually decided that Giuseppe would call her "Caro" which (should) mean dear/darling i Italian. Hopefully that's not stupid or something...Anyway, hope you guys liked this chapter! Happy (belated) Halloween! Hope you all enjoyed it; my day wasn't too bad… Anyway, let me know what you thought!


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** So, this chapter took me a lot longer to post because school is seriously killing me right now. I'm a senior (hs) and I'm taking a math class that isway to hard for me and I have no other choices so I have to hope and pray I'm not going to fail. If I do, it'll be the first class I've ever failed; which would seriously suck because that one class has the chance to keep me from graduating this May. I also am taking the honors/college credit plus Language Arts class for seniors;, that, funnily enough, I have yet to have gotten below an A in that class. It's not exactly hard until we have to write papers. Currently, I have a five page argumentive essay's rough draft due and I haven't even gotten a page done. Okay, I'll stop complaining about my crap because I doubt you guys want to hear it. Anyway, here it is, hope it's OK..

 **Oh, and** **thank you** **to the Guest who corrected me on my use of Caro. Considering I'm taking Spanish 2 I should've known to make it feminine but I didn't want to be completely wrong being that I don't know anything about Italian.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Elena finally got off the phone with Caroline after what felt like hours of listening to her talk. She'd kept her eye on Damon's doorway, planning to either snatch her headphones off of him or steal them back after he left his room. Of course, Damon hadn't left his room. So she was going to be forced to get them back while he still had them.

Damon had always loved to tease her and she had a feeling that that was exactly what he was doing. He obviously never learned his lesson on that one. Elena tended to get a _bit_ violent once she was irritated enough.

Oh, well. She might as well just get it over with. They were the only headphones she had and they were her favorite.

Elena threw her phone over on top of her bed and walked across the hall. She leaned against Damon's doorway with her arms crossed.

Damon was standing in his bathroom with the door open. H was currently brushing his teeth with his back to her. From where she was standing she could see his back and his face and chest in the mirror. He had a bad habit of never having a shirt on like she had always had a bad habit of never wearing shoes or socks.

She quickly glanced around the room. Her headphones were sitting on the dresser under the flat screen TV along with his phone. Her chances of Damon not seeing her were slim to none. That really sucked but she wanted her headphones back and she really only had to other options. Ask Damon nicely to give them back and have him be a smartass or tell Lily about it like they we're ten year olds.

Telling Lily was really too childish for her liking. She definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with Damon's smart ass retorts, either.

Elena used her shoulder to push off of the doorway and walked across the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. She wasn't as quiet as she'd hoped or Damon had been paying attention because as soon as her hands had touched the headphones she felt Damon standing behind her.

"Watcha doin'?" She turned around and looked at him. He had a grin on his face and an amused glint in his eyes.

She took a step back and glanced down. He was just wearing a towel. _Great_.

"I'm taking my headphones back," She rose her arm to show him. "See?"

"Maybe I was still using those. You could've tried asking for them instead of attempting to be a sneak." He chuckled. "Which, I may add, is something you've never been even remotely good at."

She felt like _that_ was a bit offending.

"Excuse me? They're _my_ headphones that _you_ took without even asking! I didn't need to ask for them back."

Damon grinned, "Two wrongs don't make a right..." He trailed off and walked back into the bathroom, shutting the door.

Elena stood there with her teeth clenched. She wanted to go in there and slap Damon silly but she knew it wouldn't be completely worth it. So, instead, she just left the room…

Though that was after she put a different lock on his phone.

* * *

Elena was sitting on a couch in a dress shop trying to discreetly scroll through her facebook news-feed on her phone. Caroline was at the dressing rooms talking to one of her bridesmaid's who wasn't very happy with her dress.

Supposedly, the girl thought that she looked too 'pudgy.' Elena rolled her eyes at the comment. She just wanted to put on her dress and get it over with. All she wanted to do was make sure that it fit and didn't look _too_ horrible. Caroline wanted to make sure it was perfect on Elena.

So, she was stuck here waiting until the too pudgy girl figured out what was going on with her pink dress.

Elena felt someone plop down on the couch next to her and looked over to see Caroline. She looked a bit exasperated.

"You two finally figure it out?"

Caroline groaned and slapped her hands over her eyes. " _No_. Chelsea is being so difficult! She wants to get a different dress style or a different color. She obviously doesn't understand that it's _my_ wedding. Not to mention she can't have a different dress!"

"Well, yeah, she can't. She _is_ a bridesmaid." Elena agreed. "Wasn't she the one who helped you pick the dress out?"

"Of course she was! She's the one that found it! Now, everyone else is fine with the dresses and she thinks she's too fat for it."

Caroline gave Elena a pitiful look. Elena returned in with a small smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"You'll figure it out. You always do." Elena paused. "Remember when you had to help me find a last minute prom dress after Katherine stole mine?"

Caroline let out a small laugh. "Oh, god. That was horrible! It took us five different shops before we found the right one."

Elena knocked against Caroline's shoulder with her own. "See? If we made it through that, you can make it through this."

Caroline rolled her eyes with a smile and got up to go back over to the dressing rooms.

Hopefully she figured it out soon. Elena was starving.

* * *

 **AN:** Yeah, so, that probably sucked. I didn't re-read it because i'm tired and I literally just finished it..It's short, too… I promise to try and make the next chapter better. I'm still stressing over not having my LA paper done and everything but I wanted to get this out because it's been a week since I've updated. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews from the previous chapters, let me know what you all thought this time (hopefully it wasn't completely horrible)!


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** You know, sometimes I make the most idiotic grammar mistakes and it kills me to know that I actually didn't see them to correct them. So, yeah, I most definitely need a beta but I have no idea how or where to find one. It doesn't help that I'm one of the shyest people ever, either. I'm even worse on here than I am in real life. So, I apologize _, yet again_ , for all the dumb grammatical mistakes I make.

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

Caroline finally had finished with her unhappy bridesmaid almost an hour later. Elena had been half tempted to walk to The Grill but she was lazy and a bit scared. Or, well, timid about doing it, actually. She didn't know who would be at the Grill right then and she wasn't particularly fond of walking in alone.

So, she waited it out and hurriedly put her dress on, got Caroline's approval, and was back in her own clothes in less then twenty minutes.

She and Caroline were now waiting on their food. Elena had also narrowly avoided talking to most of the people in the Grill, which was a major plus. The majority of Mystic Falls people were all nosy and wanted to talk about things she had no interest in even thinking about, let alone discussing.

"So..." Caroline said as she twirled her straw in her iced tea.

Elena rose her eyebrow, "So…what?"

"How's Damon?"

Elena sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, giving Caroline an irritated glare. "How should I know?"

Caroline pursed her lips, "Well, I don't know. Maybe because you two have been in the same house for over a day now."

"Care, it's a miracle we haven't tried to maim one another yet. Don't push it."

Caroline let out a dramatic sigh, "Oh, I wish you two would grow up! You're literally acting like children!"

Elena snorted. "Well, what? Are we supposed to be all buddy-buddy or something? I really don't see that happening."

"Elena! Come on! Can't you two just figure you're issues out? It'll be so much better for everyone if you two just do it. Get it over with. Maybe then you can at least get along and not act like children."

Elena tilted her head, "Yeah, see, pretty sure I tried that already…You know what? I think it was about two years ago, actually! It certainly didn't work then. No point in trying now."

"You're right, you did try. You both need to try this time. Figure out all the issues. Come to an understanding. Just do _something_ other than fight like pre-teens or act like you hate each other."

"Whatever, Care." She said as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

As Elena lay in bed that night, she did _think_ about what Caroline said. She could try to work everything out with Damon. However, it would be pointless if Damon didn't want to listen. She was pretty sure he wouldn't want to so she honestly didn't see a point in wasting her time.

From what she's seen so far, Damon hasn't changed at all. If he had, it had to of been very minimally. Over the past two years, she had matured. She could admit to anything and everything she'd done wrong. She had no problem with that. Making mistakes and being wrong was basically a part of life. You couldn't avoid it.

Damon had rarely ever been one to admit that he had been wrong. She couldn't get him to do it before, so she doubted she could get him to do it now. Talking out their problems and mistakes would more than likely result in nothing more than a migraine for her.

Damon would accuse her of lying and cheating the whole time. She would probably get upset; say things she would only mean in the heat of the moment. Plus, unfortunately, saying things that they didn't mean was a very bad habit that both Elena and Damon happened to share.

Elena hoped they could just get along well enough for Caroline and Enzo's wedding. The maid of honor and best man needed to at least get along for the sake of their friends.

* * *

Elena woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of drawers being shut and things being moved around in her room. She quickly sat up and turned on the bedside table's lamp.

"Damon! What in the hell are you doing?"

Damon, for some unknown reason was rummaging around in her dresser drawers. She could care less about him going through the drawers; most of the clothes in there were over three years old. There was really nothing in any of the dressers he hadn't already seen, anyways. What bothered her was that he happened to be doing so a four in the morning.

"Looking for something..." He muttered, throwing a pile of shirts on the carpeted floor.

Elena rubbed her hands over her face. "You seriously decided to look for something at four in the morning?"

Damon stopped and looked at her like he hadn't understood the question. "…Yes." He said slowly.

She was getting a headache. "Get out of my room."

"In a minute…" He then moved down towards the final dresser drawer and began going through it.

Elena gritted her teeth and grabbed a throw pillow from the end of the bed and threw it at Damon, hitting him in the head.

"Hey!" He hollered.

She rolled her eyes and laid down on her side, pulling the covers up over her head. "You better put that all back." She muttered.

* * *

The following morning she woke up and was surprised to see that Damon had, in fact, put everything back where it belonged. Unless it was his room or his things, he usually didn't care to fix whatever he'd done while he was looking for something.

The funny thing had always been that Damon was so OCD he'd flip if someone moved or touched something in his room. Elena supposed he did that with almost the whole boarding house now. He had always been in charge of his own room, bathroom, the kitchen, and living room/dining room area.

All the other spaces had previously been left for the maid. He might've gotten lazy enough at this point to allow the maid to clean the whole house. She figured that was pretty likely.

Elena really had no idea why Damon was looking for something in _her_ room, of all places. She couldn't think of one thing that he would have any interest in. Most of the things in this room were clothes and she couldn't see Damon needing any of her clothes for any reason.

He was probably doing something to mess with Enzo if he _had_ been going through her clothes. The bachelor/bachelorette parties _were_ tomorrow night. God only knows what Damon could possibly have planned.

If he was planning on using her clothes for something she was sure there would be pictures. Therefore, there was no need to ask what he was doing. Unnecessary conversations weren't very necessary between them at this point.

As Caroline had pointed out yesterday, they did have a tendency to act like children when dealing with one another.

* * *

 **AN:** First, I'll apologize for another way-too-short chapter. Secondly, I'll apologize again for taking WAY too long to update. I didn't do it on purpose, I just have had a lot going on what with catching up and getting my grade up in my math class and finishing my five page essay in my LA honors class. Which reminds me, my teacher just started today prepping us for or next paper. So, I'll have that to deal with but my birthday is this Saturday (11-21), so I guess that's a plus…Anyway, sorry, and thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter! They were lovely and made me feel great about this story.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** Well, again, I took forever to write and post this chapter. I was truly just busy from the time I posted the chapter until the following Tuesday after Thanksgiving. My family and I had traveled for the holiday and I hadn't taken my laptop. Not to mention that every time I do get the time to write, I never have the inspiration. Once I do get the inspiration, I don't get the time because I keep getting projects and homework piled on me. I keep apologizing for it but I'm sure that's getting annoying so just know that whenever I post chapter really late, I'm not _just_ procrastinating on writing. I've just been pre-occupied and haven't had the time. So, again, I am sorry about it. :p

Anyway, thanks for the feedback on last chapter! I appreciated every review and it makes me feel better about this story seeing as sometimes I feel like what I'm writing is stupid or immature.

 **Oh! I also would like to thank SuSU12 for wishing me a happy birthday! It was actually pretty nice, too!**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

Caroline's bachelorette party had gone off without a hitch. There was glitter everywhere for days, and Elena could honestly say she wasn't sure she ever needed to drink again. She'd managed to drink so many neon colored drinks with odd names that night it was ridiculous. Thankfully, though, she had kept it all down. Caroline hadn't and had proceeded to cry about how gross it was and how Elena could never _ever_ motion that it had happened.

Elena broke that promise. Somehow in her drunken stupor, she had decided it was a bright idea to call Damon because she didn't want to stay at Caroline's house. Caroline had collected everyone's keys at the beginning of the night s that there would be no accidents.

Elena couldn't remember much besides making the phone call but apparently she had been pretty entertaining. Damon hadn't been much better off than she had; he really had no business driving at all. He'd done it anyway and they'd make it back to the mansion safety. Supposedly Lily had met them in the entry way to berate Damon for driving at all; it apparently hadn't fazed the two. They nodded at her multiple times and apologized and Lily had left after giving them a disapproving look.

She could vaguely remember plopping down on the living room couch with Damon following closely behind her a few minutes after Lily had went upstairs.

* * *

Damon hopped over the back of couch and landed next to her. He grinned at her with a playful look in his eye and grabbed the remote to turn the flat screen on.

They hadn't really said much to each other at all. The car ride to the mansion hadn't been much better. Damon had the radio on and was too focused on driving for them to really talk about anything, Elena hadn't said much as she got into the Camaro but she could see Caroline out of the corner of her eye. For some odd reason Caroline had an excited, gleeful look on her face as she was watching Elena get into Damon's car.

Elena had a few ideas of what Caroline thought would happen or was happening but chose to not pay much attention to it. She was still pretty buzzed, as was the rest of the bachelorette party.

" _Blondie being her usual annoying, over-bearing self?" He said with a smirk on his face as she closed the car door._

 _Elena sighed as she put her seat belt on, "More like imaginative and drunk, but yeah, I suppose that works."_

 _Damon snorted, "When isn't she imaginative? That girl's been obsessed with fairy tales and pink since she was born."_

* * *

Damon and Caroline had never been exactly fond of each other. They got along well enough when they wanted to, but they were definitely not very nice to each other. Caroline has a problem with Damon because when they were 5, he supposedly pushed her down. Elena couldn't stop rolling her eyes when Caroline had confessed that to her in their freshman year of high school.

She was sure it had more to do with the fact that Caroline had a minor crush on Damon during eighth grade and he had been rude to her. Caroline was one of the most bright, cheery, loving persons you could meet but she could be a bit childish and petty when it came to holding grudges. She once replaced Stefan's shampoo with blue hair dye because she randomly remembered that he had pulled one of her pig tails in kindergarten.

Damon chose to be rude to Caroline because he was a sarcastic ass; nothing more, nothing less. The two were never hateful towards each other but it drove people nuts once they started bickering about something. They acted like siblings so much it was ridiculous.

Elena went to bed after the movie Damon had put on had finished. He had passed out about half way into it; she assumed he did so because she had been ignoring him. He had been trying to goad her into talking about something and she was tired.

He was in a playful mood, though he had always tended to be that way when he was drunk. It had always been something Elena had giggled at, he had always had the tendency to be the biggest goofball to get her attention.

Before she went upstairs, she had turned the TV off and attempted to wake him up by repeatedly nudging his shoulder. It hadn't worked. All he'd done was groan at her and wave her had away. She just gave up and threw a blanket over top of him.

* * *

 **AN:** This chapter is way shorter than what I had planned out. You guys deserved a LONG chapter and I didn't do what I planned and what you deserved. I'm sick, have missed school since Monday, have to go to the doctors tomorrow, and I also have to get a rough draft for my research essay done by either Friday or Monday. Not sure which because I've missed almost the whole week and haven't talked to my teacher yet. I also have to get a lot of math homework done and I was unable to write during the weekend because I was away again and this weekend I have to help my mom, get up early on Saturday for a major test, and I'm exhausted. So, I posted this, hoping that you guys aren't completely mad at me. I'm so pissed at myself for it being as short as it is, but I hope it was alright. By the end of next week I'll be on winter break with nothing but time, so I promise to write as much as I can! :)


	8. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**First off let me apologize to anyone and everyone who assumed this was a new chapter. I. Am. SO. Sorry. I feel like such an ass, I swear.**

 **So, I've been debating since the last update on whether to put this story on hiatus or not. I obviously started it at the incorrect time and should've had most, if not all, of the chapters done before I started posting them.**

 **I'm a busy person as it's my last year of high school and I have a lot to worry about; when I started posting this story I didn't think of that and I should've. I had not expected to be as busy as I've been because I never am.**

 **I've been horrible at updating and I don't want to ruin this story by writing rushed chapters that haven't been planned out or thoroughly re-read through before posting. It's unfair to you all when I do that and it's really unfair to this story. I don't want it to turn out like Sleeping Beauty did, which is what it is slowly becoming. I feel as if I did badly on writing Sleeping Beauty because I was excited and loved the fact that there were people who actually liked what I was writing; therefore, I rushed chapters out that I didn't have the inspiration to right resulting in a not-so-great story. Which, don't get me wrong, I didn't expect Sleeping Beauty to be this amazing story that everyone loved and wanted to read and couldn't get enough of. After all, it was the very first one i'd ever written... I just feel that I could've done a much better job on it if I'd planned accordingly.**

 **Some of the people who like this story are really going to be upset with me because I'm doing this but I feel its best. I'd feel better knowing I'm posting the highest quality and longest chapters I can by putting this story on Hiatus until I've written and finished some chapters, if not the whole story. I know people are going to be angry and trust me, I know how you feel. I've read stories diligently for them to suddenly be put on hiatus after not updating them very well; its irritating and disappointing. Hopefully, though, some of you agree with** _ **why**_ **I'm putting it on hiatus. Stone in Love will be much better if I do this, trust me.**

 **However,** **thank you all so much for ALL of the support you've showed me with this story so far** **. I've enjoyed reading the reviews (good **_**and**_ **bad) and seeing all the favs and follows** **.**

 ******Hopefully you guys will continue to read this story once I begin to post chapters for it again! ****** **(If not, I do and will understand)**

 **Happy Holidays to everyone, I hope they're great for you all.** **:)**


	9. Chapter 8

**AN: Because this hiatus has gone on much longer than I'd planned or thought it would, I'm posting the chapter I have fully done. I have chapter 9 done but the fan in my laptop broke so as soon as it starts to heat up, it shuts off. I saved the wrong file of chapter 9 onto my google drive so I won't be able to post the correct, full done one until my computer is fixed and as of now, I don't know when that will be. My depression and anxiety hasn't helped me at all when trying to write the story and it's only gotten worse as time goes on. I have the ideas, I just don't have the energy. School is still kicking my ass but this still will eventually be finished, even if no one continues to read it. I'll finish it just to be able to say I did and yes, who knows, it may take forever. I don't know. I don't want it to. I didn't want it to. I can't apologize enough to any readers I had or still have. I don't even know what else to say. There may be some mistakes I missed, hopefully there's none but I'm sure I missed something or several somethings. Hopefully if anyone reads this chapter it's okay. If not.. well. I'm sorry..**

 **Chapter Eight**

Caroline's wedding had been beautiful, everything had happened as planned. God knows there would've been hell to pay if it hadn't. Caroline was a force to be reckoned with. However, it went perfectly, as said, and the bride and groom were currently twirling around the dance floor.

Caroline was a stunning bride; even Damon would admit that if questioned. She looked great in her long flowing white dress and of course there wasn't a hair out of place. Enzo was absolutely mesmerized by her from the moment he'd seen her walking down the aisle. Elena couldn't be happier for Caroline if she tried. She had a husband who adored her and would spoil her to no end—which is exactly what Caroline deserved.

Enzo had only moved to Mystic Falls two years ago. He was originally from England and had been supposedly felt out of place. That was how he'd met Caroline; Caroline loved being a tour guide. She'd been the official school welcome for any new student that moved to Mystic Falls while they were in high school.

Elena had gotten a call from Caroline the night she'd met Enzo. Caroline was absolutely charmed by him from the start and Elena wasn't surprised. She didn't know him very well, but Enzo was a very nice, kind, and giving person. However, he was also different enough that he and Caroline perfectly clashed. They were opposites but they were perfect for each other.

Looking around the room, Elena noticed that quite a few of the guests were already pretty tanked and we're causing quite a lot of entertainment to all the people who were sitting around like Elena. Most, if not all of Mystic Falls came to the reception so it was pretty packed. Damon had seemingly flirted with most of the women in attendance, though Elena didn't really know why she noticed or even cared. Considering Damon was nothing to her anymore, there really was no reason for it.

Then again, keeping an eye on an ex-boyfriend was hardly the most questionable thing she'd done. She often reflected on decisions she'd made and continually questioned herself. One of those decisions was taking Damon back after he cheated on her.

She was always weak on decision making when it came to Damon. It was rare she told him no and it was rare that she actually had to. With Stefan, it hadn't been hard at all. He made mistakes just as Damon did yet when it came to Damon the stupid actions he'd made had hardly ever fazed her. They argued a little and quickly got over it. She and Stefan would continually argue for almost a week at times because one did something the other hadn't liked. It took forever for them to make up when they'd been together.

Elena had eventually come to the conclusion that it was because Stefan and her just didn't fit right. She and Damon always had. It was still irritating to admit that, but it was the truth.

She really needed to stop thinking about all of this. She was at a reception—her best friends reception. She shouldn't sit and stare and brood over the past. At least her father wasn't here. Elena wasn't really sure she wanted to do the awkward part of getting questioned about how her life was going when the inquisitor couldn't care less.

Elena sighed and took another sip of wine while scanning the room. Lily and Giuseppe were sitting with all the other parents in the room. They were all more than likely exchanging stories of Caroline from her childhood. Stefan was dancing around with his new girlfriend, Lexi. Damon and his older friend Alaric were sitting by the bar.

She snorted and noticed that compared to all of her Mystic Falls friends, she was absolutely the most boring and introverted. She was actually quite happy sitting alone, thinking to herself. She was hardly the loud, outgoing, obnoxious girl she'd once been.

"Care to dance?"

Elena glanced up and was a bit surprised to see that Damon was the one holding his hand out to her, albeit with a smirk on his face.

She sighed, sitting her glass back on the table. "You hate dancing."

He playfully rolled his eyes. "Well, if I'm remembering correctly, it's never stopped me before."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Never once have you actually asked _me_ to dance."

"Well, I am now." He said, looking at her expectantly.

She pursed her lips and took his hand, allowing him to pull her up. "Fine…"

Elena was choosing to ignore had badly this could turn out. Yes, it was _just_ a dance. However, she had a feeling one of them would say something to piss off the other. Things rarely went as planned when it came to them.

"You know, you could at least _look_ happy. You are dancing with the most handsome man in the room." He grinned.

She rolled her eyes and focused on one of them empty tables she could see behind his shoulder.

"I remember a time when you actually enjoyed dancing with me."

"We danced together once and I wouldn't exactly say I enjoyed it. I was a bit more embarrassed by the fact that your brother ditched me."

He smiled and hummed. "Semantics, really."

Damon was referring to the Miss Mystic Falls dance of her junior year of high school. She and Stefan had, of course, been dating at the time. Stefan was supposed to have been her escort, her dance partner. She'd been so embarrassed when she'd started down the long staircase of Lockwood Mansion and Stefan hadn't been there. He'd already been announced to be her escort and as she continued down she could feel her face getting redder. She'd then looked up once she'd hit the middle of the staircase to see Damon standing at the bottom. To say she was shocked would've been an understatement. She and Damon certainly weren't anywhere close to getting along at that point. She had been grateful, though. She much preferred the confused stares as they walked out together as opposed to walking out alone.

They'd danced together though she couldn't remember it well at all. At that point, she was so hurt and angry at Stefan she couldn't possibly think about anyone else. Elena didn't win and she had been a little disappointed but it hadn't been that big of a deal. She was glad Caroline had won. At the end, Lily walked up to them beaming and told them that they had danced better than any of the other couple.

Later that day, Elena had finally tracked Stefan down. He'd been with Katherine. She'd 'distracted' him from coming. That had been the first time she'd been cheated on.

"You okay?" Damon was looking at her with what seemed like worry in his eyes.

"Fine."

"Did you ever think we'd get married?" Damon looked curious.

She almost wanted to ask him if he'd been hit in the head somehow, resulting in memory loss. The man who bitched at her if she even mentioned anything about a wedding when they'd been together was seriously asking if she'd thought they would've gotten married. Elena wasn't sure if he was trying to anger her or not but that's what it felt like.

She calmed herself and kept her face neutral. "I think that's a bit of a stupid question either way. You made it clear when we were together that you didn't want to be married."

"Why's it a stupid question?"

"It doesn't matter whether I did or not. If you honestly don't know the damn answer you don't need to. We're not together and we're certainly not getting back together." She could feel the anger and hurt bubbling up inside of her. Couldn't he have just left her alone?

"Ooh, Touchy." He smirked at her and she clenched her teeth. "What makes you think we won't get back together?"

She dropped her arms and stepped back, gob smacked. "Are you _kidding_ me?" Elena said, slightly raising her voice.

Damon tilted his head. "What? You cheated with Stefan. I'm over it." He shrugged. "I miss you." He said, pulling her back to him.

Elena chose not to fight against him. She was clumsy and was desperately trying to not cause a scene. She knew it would upset Caroline.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you. I _didn't_ cheat on you. I've never cheated on anyone, let alone _you_."

"Elena. C'mon. You don't need to lie, I get it. I upset you so you used Stefan to upset _me_."

Elena blew out a breath, trying to calm down. Trying not to yell or scream at him.

"I'm not going to fight with you Damon. I've tried to tell you, Stefan has tried to tell you, your mother had tried to tell you." She said stated. "I don't know what you want. I did not cheat on you and you're not going to make me lie and say I did to make yourself feel better."

"I have nothing I feel bad about." Damon seemed and looked completely confidant in that statement.

"Bullshit. _You_ cheated on me. _You_ told me to leave and go to college. _You_ went and got married to a random woman in Vegas because you misinterpreted a situation. I did _nothing_."

"I didn't misinterpret shit, Elena." His voice was rising and Elena saw Caroline look over to where they were standing on the floor.

Elena hated when she got frustrated. She cried when she was desperately frustrated and she could feel the tears burning at her eyes. She couldn't cry. She wasn't upset, she was angry. She wanted him to finally believe her or just leave her alone.

"Damon. I loved you. You meant everything to me. All I wanted was you. I don't know what you want from me." She said weakly. "All you saw was Stefan and I hugging. I had called Lexi when I'd gotten to New York upset over you. She couldn't come so she sent Stefan to make sure I was okay. He hadn't even been there for ten minutes when you'd shown up. I was crying and he felt bad. You didn't even try to find out what was going on. You sped off in your damn car. You got _married_."

The tears weren't burning anymore but they were threatening to spill over. Damon's eyes were searching her face for something. She wasn't sure of what.

"I didn't get married."

"Oh, you were married alright. It just wasn't legal because _Andie_ was already married." She spat out. "You knew how much I wanted to get married and you refused to even let me toy with the idea of us doing so. Then you go and pull _that_ of all things? You _broke_ my fucking heart and didn't even give a shit."

Damon didn't look as sure of himself as he had. He had a panicky look on his face that she was sure was because of her tears. He'd never handled her crying well at all, let alone her just being upset.

"I...You ch—"He was cut off by her hand connecting to his face.

She didn't feel bad about it either. She'd never slapped him before, not even when he'd cheated on her in the early stages of their relationship. She'd just simply argued and screamed at him then. She was just so angry and hurt.

"I didn't _cheat_ on you!" That had come out more loudly than Elena had anticipated. Not everyone in the hall noticed but the important ones had: Caroline, Enzo, Stefan, Lily, and Giuseppe.

She swallowed as she looked around, glanced at a stunned Damon who had his hand on his cheek and quickly walked away. She grabbed her purse from her table and made her way to the parking lot.


End file.
